Things I hope you will teach my grandchildren

Some people say they cannot believe in a God because if there was a God and he was good, he wouldn’t allow all the pain and suffering and hardships to happen to all of us. You have all seen the weights that joggers and walkers attach to their ankles and wrists to give them extra resistance. They are in good enough physical condition that they can’t get enough resistance in the time they have by walking or jogging without them to develop the desired strength and stamina. I think of handicaps and trials that we have in life in somewhat the same terms. The Lord knows our strengths and weaknesses and some of us are too far advanced to be able to develop sufficient spirituality, humility, or whatever other virtues we need without the extra resistance in this life.

The point is we have to have faith that God knows us and loves us enough that he will tailor our mortal experience to our needs so that we have the opportunity for the maximum possible development according to our progress thus far. It is this eternal perspective that the gospel provides that allows us to bear our trials and infirmities with patience and even, as some are able to do, with grace and cheerfulness. I always admire those who, like the sister in our ward who was paralyzed at a young age in an accident, can go through life with a cheerful, upbeat attitude in spite of handicaps and hardships. I wish I was more like that.